1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an imaging apparatus including a cover member that can slide relative to an apparatus body to form a grip.
2. Description of the Related Art
Imaging apparatus, such as digital still cameras, have been reduced in size and thickness. Such an imaging apparatus includes an apparatus body having a flat, substantially box-like shape, an imaging lens provided on the front side of the apparatus body, and a display unit, such as a liquid crystal monitor, provided on the rear side of the apparatus body.
An imaging apparatus reduced in size and thickness is often gripped only by the tips of user's fingers at the time of capturing an image. In this case, the user has a poor gripping sensation. When the user presses an imaging button without an adequate gripping sensation, a captured image is likely blurred or what is called a hand-shake likely occurs.
Further, when the display unit provided on the rear side of the apparatus body is large, the palm and the tips of fingers disadvantageously hide the display unit when the user grips the apparatus body. When the user grips the apparatus body in such a way that the palm and the tips of fingers do not hide the display unit, the apparatus body is not stably gripped. On the other hand, when the apparatus body is provided with a grip that can be gripped by a hand, the grip protrudes from the apparatus body and degrades the portability of the apparatus.
To address the above problem, an imaging apparatus that has been proposed includes a cover member that can slide relative to an apparatus body to form a grip.
JP-A-2007-163589, for example, describes an existing imaging apparatus of this type. JP-A-2007-163589 describes a technology of a portable digital camera with a display unit. The digital camera described in JP-A-2007-163589 includes an apparatus body with a display unit and a flexible cover slidable relative to the apparatus body. The cover, which has a first form in which the display unit of the apparatus body is covered, is deformed into a second form in which the display unit is uncovered and the deformed cover forms a cylindrical grip at a side of the apparatus body.
JP-A-9-244135, for example, describes another imaging apparatus of the type described above. JP-A-9-244135 describes a technology of a camera with a lens cover that also serves as a grip. The camera described in JP-A-9-244135 includes a camera body with an imaging lens provided therein, a sliding member that can cover or uncover the imaging lens, and a flexible strip provided between the sliding member and a front side portion of the camera body. When the user slides the sliding member toward the side portion of the camera body, part of the strip protrudes forward from the camera body to form a grip used when the user captures an image.